The General (1926)

When Union spies steal an engineer's beloved locomotive, he pursues it single handedly and straight through enemy lines.

Directors:

Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton

Writers:

Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman,

Stars:

Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender

Top 250 #119 | 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Keaton	...	Johnnie Gray
Marion Mack	...	Annabelle Lee
Glen Cavender	...	Captain Anderson
Jim Farley	...	General Thatcher
Frederick Vroom	...	A Southern General
Charles Henry Smith	...	Annabelle's Father (as Charles Smith)
Frank Barnes	...	Annabelle's Brother
Joe Keaton	...	Union General
Mike Donlin	...	Union General
Tom Nawn	...	Union General

Storyline

Johnnie loves his train ("The General") and Annabelle Lee. When the Civil War begins he is turned down for service because he's more valuable as an engineer. Annabelle thinks it's because he's a coward. Union spies capture The General with Annabelle on board. Johnnie must rescue both his loves.

---

Plot Keywords:

general | confederate | train | love | spy | 

---

Taglines:

Love, Locomotives and Laughs

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 1927 (France)

Also Known As:

General

Filming Locations:

Cottage Grove, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buster Keaton Productions, Joseph M. Schenck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 80 min (1982) 83 min (1962) 75 min (2003 alternate) 78 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scenes with the opposing armies marching, Keaton had the extras (which included Oregon National Guard troops) wear the uniforms of the Confederacy and march in one direction past the camera, then he had them change uniforms to the Union blue and had them march past the camera in the other direction.

---

Goofs

When Johnny gets switched on the siding, and reverses back onto the mainline, his locomotive slides a fair distance after the drivers stop, indicating that the rails have been heavily greased to prepare for the wheelslip scene following it.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Annabelle's brother: Fort Sumter has been fired upon.
Mr. Lee: Then the war is here.
Annabelle's brother: Yes, dad, and I'm going to be one of the first to enlist.

---

Connections

Featured in One Hundred and One Nights (1995)

User Reviews

The Genius of Buster Keaton

Probably Buster Keaton's best film, and oddly enough, it's not even a straightforward comedy – it's actually an action film, with clever doses of romance and comedy tossed in for good measure. `The General', which is set during the Civil War, is about a train engineer named Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton, of course) who tries to enlist in the Confederate Army . . . and is turned down because the army feels he'd be much more valuable for the war effort as an engineer instead of a soldier. However, through a series of misunderstandings, both Johnny's family and his girl think he's a coward, and they refuse to speak to him until he becomes a soldier. Months pass, and Johnny, sad and alone, is piloting his train – the General – when it is stolen from him by the North. Johnny's efforts to recover the General – and to win back his girl's love – become an unbelievably funny and action-packed series of events, as Johnny tries to go from being a sad-sack buffoon to being a hero.

If you haven't watched many silent films, they demand a greater amount of attention than `normal' film – there are no audio cues; and volumes can be spoken with a simple facial expression. Buster Keaton is amazingly expressive, as he's fully capable of going from wildly happy to downtrodden and sad in the blink of an eye. While funny, Keaton is much more than just a clownish figure – he manages to evoke a lot of sympathy as well, and he genuinely becomes what can only be described as an action hero as well. His timing, whether for a joke or for a tender moment, is absolutely impeccable.

What's also great about `The General' is the sheer amount of stunts and physical humor – a movie like this couldn't be made today. No amount of insurance would cover it. Keaton does all his own stunts, and manages to perform a number of feats that are simultaneously hilarious and dangerous – he chases down `The General' with a bike, he sits on a moving cattlecatcher, knocking away railroad ties with a tie of his own. All these stunts are fantastic, but it's scary to think that any one of these probably could've killed Keaton if something even went slightly wrong.

`The General' is a lot more than slapstick. Personally, I think it's one of the first films to push the envelope of movies – it goes for action, romance, and humor, and it pulls all of those elements together into a terrific movie. If you've never seen Buster Keaton – or, for that matter, a silent film – go find this one and watch it. It's a classic. A+